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Ed. chief won't take position on academic bill

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Kentucky's head of education says he won't take sides on legislation backed by Senate Republicans to replace the controversial academic standards known as Common Core.

Education Commissioner Stephen Pruitt said Thursday that he doesn't expect to weigh in on Senate Bill 1 during this year's General Assembly, but he will continue to review the measure and work with Senate leaders to provide information.

"I think we are still evaluating all the implications for the bill both from a district level and a state level," he said. "At this point, I just don't feel I have enough information and data to take a position one way of the other."

Senate Republicans are pushing the measure as a top priority this year. If passed, it would dismantle the Common Core State Standards on English and math and the Next Generation Science Standards, replacing them with new standards created by Kentucky educators.

The state Department of Education adopted both sets of guidelines in response to GOP-backed reforms that passed in 2009. The changes sought to better prepare students for college or careers and jettisoned the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System, known as CATS.

But both Common Core and Next Generation have triggered a wave of criticism among conservative groups around the country who say they fall short on academic rigor and epitomize federal meddling in state educational decisions.

Supporters of SB 1 argue that the legislation would return more control to local school districts and reduce the time that educators must spend on bureaucratic compliance.

However, Pruitt noted that many changes to Common Care have already been adopted.

"I honestly don't know that I can call them Common Core anymore because at this point they have gone through a revision, and ... they are going through a further revision," he said.

The comments followed an hourlong speech on the overall state of public education in Kentucky. Pruitt touched on academic standards during the talk, saying that the department has received more than 5,000 comments on the guidelines – mostly positive – since officials requested public input about a year ago.

He said the department plans to add standards on calculus and cursive handwriting and submit them for public review.

"I request that every Kentuckian, once these go out for public review, will take part in this challenge – that you will read the standards, that you will give us good feedback," he said.

Pruitt said the department was originally scheduled to implement a student assessment on science standards next year but will instead test the assessment in pilot trials for implementation in the 2017-18 academic year.

"What I will not do under my watch is release an assessment that is not quality, and so we have some more work that we need to do," he said.

Reporter Mike Wynn can be reached at (502) 875-5136 or at mwynn@courier-journal.com.